EP 16 EUROPE SERIES ISKON TEMPLE STOCKHOLM SWEDEN |HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA #janmastami #sweden #ram

EP 16 EUROPE SERIES ISKON TEMPLE STOCKHOLM SWEDEN |HARE RAMA HARE KRISHNA #janmastami #sweden #ram

#janmashtami #krishna #krishnajanmashtami #lordkrishna #happyjanmashtami #radhakrishna #vrindavan #iskcon #jaishreekrishna #radheradhe #janmashtamispecial #kanha #india #radha #harekrishna #radhekrishna #hindu #mathura #love #shrikrishna #radharani #festival #spiritual #laddugopal #radhakrishn #dahihandi #gokul #srikrishnajanmastami #god #vrindhavan#iskcon #krishna #harekrishna #vrindavan #radhakrishna #lordkrishna #iskcontemple #radheradhe #haribol #krishnaconsciousness #bhagavadgita #radha #radhekrishna #radharani #bhakti #prabhupada #srilaprabhupada #love #hindu #india #jaishreekrishna #god #barsana #spiritual #radhe #krsna #mathura #krishnalove #kanha #iskconvrindavan#sweden #sverige #stockholm #nature #ig #v #love #germany #s #g #photography #r #norway #visitsweden #travel #h #europe #france #scandinavia #canada #italy #usa #volvo #summer #denmark #f #photooftheday #sk #naturephotography #artThe International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. It was founded on 13 July 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.[2] Its main headquarter is located in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.ISKCON devotees follow a disciplic line of Gaudiya Vaishnavas and are the largest branch of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.[3] Vaishnavism means ‘worship of Vishnu’, and Gauḍa refers to the area where this particular branch of Vaishnavism originated, in the Gauda region of West Bengal and Bangladesh. Gaudiya Vaishnavism has had a following in India, especially West Bengal and Odisha, for the past five hundred years. Gaudiya Vaishnavism was founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who rapidly spread his form of ecstatic bhakti (devotion) throughout Bengal. He established Sankirtan, the practice of publicly expressing devotion to Krishna, the Supreme God, through dance and song. This form of communal worship responded to rigid caste structures by engaging all people in worship regardless of caste and creed. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu emphasized chanting the Hare Krishna Mahamantra (the ‘great mantra’). He is considered by Gaudiya Vaishnavas to be an incarnation of Krishna himself.[8][9]

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, believed to have direct lineage with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, brought Chaitanya’s Gaudiya Vaishnavism to the West in 1965.[10] At 70 years old, he landed in New York without any money (40 rupees of Indian currency). Instead of preaching to New York’s elite, he tapped into the 1960s countercultural spirit by preaching and chanting in public parks and attracting hippies and the youth. His movement, then known as the “Hare Krishna Movement”, grew even larger when he relocated to San Francisco a year later.[9] When it spread to England, it gained publicity and financial backing from the Beatles’ George Harrison. He recorded several tracks with the Hare Krishnas and included the Mahamantra in his hit track “My Sweet Lord”.[11] The first Hare Krishna commune, New Vrindavan (West Virginia), was established by Prabhupada in 1968.[8] Since then, ISKCON has established more than 800 centers all over the world and has millions of followers.[11]

Key to the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnava theology in the Western world were Prabhupada’s writings and translations,[12] including the Bhagavad Gita As It Is, Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), Chaitanya Charitamrita, and other scriptures. These works are now available in more than seventy languages and serve as the scriptures of ISKCON.[13]ISKCON claims to have around one million congregational members worldwide (majority in India), with 15,000 in Great Britain.[67]

In the West it “has a relatively small number of followers”, estimated at “a few thousand full-time practitioners”, but those showing interest in its activities might number into the “tens of thousands.”[68]

After considerable success in the West due to the counterculture of the 1960s, ISKCON lost its momentum from the early 1980s onward, “facing a sharp decline in membership and in financial resources” in North America and in Western Europe, while in the late 1990s the situation began to deteriorate in Eastern Europe as well. In 2000, it was estimated that only 750–900 members were residing in ISKCON centers in the United States. Since then, ISKCON has depended on the Indian diaspora to “revitalize” the movement; in most North American congregations Indian members making up 80% of the numbers